A Winner Is You!: Chilly Campaigns
by Moonshine's Guide
Summary: Vexen is ordered by the Superior to take place in a battle tournament at El Centro Del Mundo, along with Marluxia. These are the collection of his fights. Contest entry for Avatarjk137's contest.
1. Arrival

**Chapter One: Arrival**

Vexen stared at the sheet of paper held in his hand. In the other, was a beaker filled with a mysterious liquid. "He wants me to go… I have more important things to do!" he exclaimed to Zexion. 

Zexion glanced up from his lexicon. "Where?" he inquired to be polite. 

"To this… this… tournament!" Vexen slammed the paper down on the table. "Xemnas ordered me to go, to participate. He didn't even tell me in person! Just sent me a note!"

Zexion picked up a brochure for El Centro Del Mundo and began to scan through it. He would wait out the storm. 

"And do you know who he's sending me with?! That neophyte, Marluxia!" Vexen looked at the liquid in the bottle. "This entire situation is going to be a nuisance," going to be a nuisance," He wrote down several observations about the liquid on a sheaf of notes, setting the beaker down in a holder. He turned to face Zexion. "The only good thing to come out of this is that I will be able to perform some experiments… I'll have to pack some of my equipment though…" 

Zexion glanced up. "They have a chemical supply store there…" he stated, pulling out the map that had come with the brochure. He pointed out the small store. "The brochure states that this chemical store has most of the chemicals known to man. You could use that as a base for your experiments."

Vexen nodded. "Good idea." He picked up a case and began to put lab equipment in it. Zexion didn't really help, just stood around reading the brochure for the mall, occasionally pointing out something Vexen missed.

Vexen stared around his lab, once last time before he left via a dark portal. 

He arrived in the Hall of Empty Memories, where he was to meet up with Marluxia, before they were to depart for the tournament. He began to tap his foot impatiently. _Where is that stupid neophyte? _he thought to himself, displeased. _He's late._

It took Marluxia another ten minutes to arrive. Vexen scowled in displeasure. "What took you so long?" he snapped. 

Marluxia laughed, passing by him. "I was getting several things set… were you worried?" he replied sarcastically. 

"We are Nobodies, we have no hearts. Thus, we cannot feel," Vexen lectured, before stepping through the portal. 

The shop was well hidden. Vexen had parted from Marluxia soon after arriving, having desired to be rid of the neophyte's presence as soon as professionally possible. It had been ridiculously easy; the pink haired man had not wanted to work with the blonde either, only doing so because of orders from the Superior. They had agreed on a meeting place, a small, nondescript cafe in one of the smaller food courts. It was safe, or at least moderately safe, place to report to one another on their various activities. Not that Vexen would report to Marluxia often; Vexen didn't trust the Graceful Assassin. The assassin was too ambitious for anyone's good. Vexen suspected at times that the Assassin wasn't content with his position, hungry for a higher spot. 

Vexen peered inside the shop. It was completely unmanned. He grinned, walking in and setting down his case of supplies, taking in all the various chemicals and supplies inside. He began to set up his temporary lab. He knew it would not be as good as his old one, but it would suffice. 

Five minutes later he heard the announcements begin. He payed half an ear to them, more concerned with the assembly of his portable lab. The rules he made sure to memorize, along with the names of the other contestants. Zexion had allowed him to borrow a small laptop from him, so that Vexen could access the Organization's files on characters. It would help him when the fighting began. 

"_Now, for the first round, here is our line up!" _The announcer stated dramatically. 

Vexen waited patiently for his battle to be stated. Soon, his answer came.

"_Vexen, the Chilly Academic, versus…!"_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except my own twisted mind. But that's not even there half the time… so I guess I don't own that either.**

**Author's Note: My Vexen entry for Avatarjk137's contest, A Winner Is You!! I'm rather nervous, but hey, this is going to help my writing, which is why I'm entering. And a friend asked my to as well. I thank you for taking the time to read this, and please review. Reviews spark my creative fire, along with giving me confidence. Thank you, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you wish to read other entries, one can simply look through the X-overs section, or go to Avatarjk137 profile, look under forums, go to Entry Thread: Contestants, and look at the author's and look for those authors. Thank you, and have a nice day.**


	2. Rain on your Parade

**Round One: Rain on your Parade**

_Vexen, the Chilly Academic, versus Axel, the Flurry of Dancing Flames! _announced the announcer grandiloquently before the PA system clicked off.

"What is that Neophyte doing here?" Vexen snarled upon the termination of the announcement of the battles for the first round. He finished adjusting the instrument that sat before him, an apparatus designed for distilling various chemicals. He had wanted to start making a new concoction, but it would have to wait. Vexen didn't dare to leave this new mixture alone, untended for long periods of time. Not that this fight would consume a large portion of his day, but if Axel were to find his way here, and set fire to the place, there could be an adverse effect on the concoction, along with damage to other priceless experiments that Vexen had brought with himself. He would have to wait until after the fight to make the concoction.

Searching through the various potions, elixirs, and concoctions he had brought with, Vexen grabbed one a vial of a blue liquid and shoved it into his pocket before departing the store. He didn't to check on the laptop to find this particular opponent's weak spot. Vexen already knew.

Vexen didn't set out to locate Axel. Axel would find him, when the time was right, Vexen knew that, and planned on it. He was looking for an appropriate place, one that would allow him to put his plan into action.

The first stratagem was avoid the central hub of the mall. That was easier said than done, as to get from one 'spoke' of the mall to another, one had to pass through a portion of that hub. Vexen hurried through, catching sight of several other fights. He didn't pause to observe, but moved forward. With no time to waste, the observation of other opponents had to wait.

It took him another five minutes to reach where he wanted to be. The area was smaller, limiting mobility, but for him the area served another purpose. One that Axel hopefully wouldn't discern until it was too late. Summoning his shield, Vexen centered himself before the only possible approach, waiting for the fly to trigger the trap.

And come the fly did. Axel approached, not even taking in the surroundings. His chakrams were already out, Axel twirling them every so often. A cocky grin was on Axel's face as he eyed the higher number.

"Number VIII," Vexen stated impassively, his shield held out in front of him.

"Vexen," Axel acknowledged, before throwing his chakrams right at Vexen.

Vexen deflected the pair with his shield. "You're going to have to try harder than that…" he commented, concentrating and sending a row of ice spikes towards Axel.

Who smirked, dodging out of the way. "Same to you!" Axel replied, the chakrams returning to his hands. "I have better things to do than to fight you… so let's get this over with!" Axel held his arms out perpendicular to his body, concentrating. He looked at Vexen, a leer on his face. A flash, and then fire encircled the duo, raging, nipping at the ceiling with its many tongues. "What're you going to do now?"

Vexen made no reply. The sprinklers did it all for him.

The firefighting system in El Centro Del Mundo was one of the most advanced in the world. If a fire started anywhere in the mall, the system would immediately analyze the blaze and determine the best way to deal with the emergency.

In this particular incident, the system decided that the sprinklers would suffice. Within seconds, the sprinklers sputtered into life, dousing the entire area with over 250 gallons per minute, at around 100 pounds per square inch.

Vexen was prepared for such an event. In fact, he had planned on it. His shield was already held above his head, deflecting the high pressure water off him.

Axel, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He had no way to protect himself, as already the water was starting to extinguish the flames. His chakrams were used in a futile attempt to protect himself from the force of the water, but his weapons left too much of his body exposed. The water pummeled into Axel with punishing force.

Minutes later, the sprinkler system turned off. Vexen slowly lowered his shield, glancing at Axel. Not only was the other man completely soaked, his exposed skin was a bright red from where the water had pounded at him. With a smirk, Vexen waved his hand in Axel's direction. The air temperature plummeted, Axel's soaked clothes rapidly freezing together, along with his lips, arms, legs, and torso freezing in place. Axel couldn't move an inch.

"I do believe I've won," Vexen drawled. "You should pick your arenas more carefully…" He smirked. "And so your pyrotechnics won't work…" He pulled out the vial of blue liquid that he had brought with him. He walked towards Axel and dumped the entire bottle over the neophyte's head. "Do you know what this is?" He glanced at Axel. "Of course you don't. This is Novec 1230. A fire suppression chemical. It's liquid at room temperature, but works as a gaseous fire suppressor. It will stop any flames you try to create, so you won't be able to use them for a while..."

Vexen started to walk away, dismissing his shield. "Have a nice day Number Eight." He didn't allow himself to laugh until he got back to his base.

**Disclaimer: If I owned any of these characters… let's just say Vexen would still be alive, and starring in his own game. **

**Author's Note: Hello everybody, welcome to Chapter Two, and the first action sequence. Yay!! The author who will write the corresponding fight scene is Hi Welcome to Hell. Go check out his version of the fight. If it's not up already, it will be up soon. **

**As a little explanation, all information about the sprinklers/fire suppression chemical is genuine, except for maybe the color of Novec 1230. I wasn't able to find out what color it was, so I made it blue. I hope nobody minds. **

**Well, good luck to all! Thank you for reading, and all reviews are gladly accepted. Thanks again!**


	3. Seeing Double

**Round Two: Seeing Double**

Vexen stood hunched over what lay on the table before him, examining the experiment before him. Zexion lounged nearby, leaning on the counter, his lexicon held indolently in his hands. This silence continued for several minutes, before Vexen ceased his examination. "It appears to be unharmed," he stated.

Zexion rolled his eyes. "I brought it through a portal, straight from your lab. There was no chance for it to be hurt."

Vexen hmphed and walked over to the counter, rustling through the various items that rested on top. Finding what he wanted, he returned to the table, hovering over the experiment. The laptop had been consulted, and the file on Avatar Roku pulled up. Vexen had frowned slightly when he had read the file. A man who could control the four elements… would be an excellent test for his next experiment. A smirk had grown on his face when the idea first struck. A chance to test one of his newer ideas and progress farther in the tournament… a win-win scenario. His smirk acquired a triumphant edge as he activated the experiment.

Roku found his next opponent standing near one of the many areas where the waterway emerged from underground. The man was silent, his eyes piercing the Avatar with an odd gaze. Roku frowned slightly… there was something off about this man.

The Avatar had no more time to think about the oddness, as several spikes of ice came rushing at him. He stepped out of the way of the sharp spire, only to have the deadly icicles follow him. Slipping into the correct stance he jabbed forward with his hands, fire flowing out and melting the attack.

Roku stared at the man opposite of him. The only thing he had known previously was the man's name, Vexen, and his appearance. Now he knew several more things about the man. The first being that the man was a waterbender of some sort. The second was that he wielded a shield. Vexen's emerald eyes were narrowed in concentration, his shield held before him defensively, covering his torso. His deep concentration left his back open, and Roku decided to press forward with an attack. He shifted his foot forward and slipped.

Vexen had made a patch of ice underneath the old Avatar's feet. He kept making it larger, until the patch surrounded Roku so that he couldn't step onto unfrozen ground. Vexen smirked mechanically, as he raised a hand and formed an stake of ice in the air above his head and sent it flying at Roku.

Roku's feet slid across the slick surface, fighting for a firm foothold and finding it. He swept his arm in a horizontal motion in front of himself, melted the ice surrounding him, and with a graceful forward push of his arm, reformed it before him as a wall. Vexen's strike impacted upon the newly formed wall and shattered. Roku augmented his defense with another elegant motion, melting the water and whipping a rope of water at Vexen.

Vexen raised his shield, skidding backwards slightly as the whip connected, jarring the arm that held his shield. Vexen rose a few inches in the air and skimmed just over the floor, retreating to the side at a rapid pace.

Roku pursued, firing fireballs at the retreating scientist. Most were blocked by the shield, but a few connected, one with Vexen's cloak. It had been extinguished quickly, but a large portion towards the bottom of the cloak was missing now.

The fight continued this way for several minutes more, until Vexen disappeared through a metal door. Roku paused, before following in after. He was met by a strange sight. The room was small, enclosed, with the door appearing to be the only way in or out of the room, except for a small air vent towards the top of the room. Roku's eyes swept the room, before focusing on his opponent. The lights in the room illuminated the fact that Vexen was standing still, his shield held limply in his hands. Even his eyes were dull.

There was something wrong. Roku took a few steps forward, ready to conjure a fireball to attack. There was no need. The Avatar simply prodded Vexen and the man collapsed face first, the shield bouncing out of his hands. Roku looked down at the fallen form in shock. He had barely done any damage to the man, and already the man was unconscious? There was something very wrong with this…

Roku knelt down to further examine the body, when the door shut behind him with a click. Roku noticed nothing, the lights in the room bright enough to conceal the change. He flipped Vexen's form over. The eyes were still open, staring lifelessly up at the ceiling. Roku frowned, noticing stitching around the other man's neck. The stitching descended down the man's upper chest, disappearing into the cloak. Roku wondered absently what wound would require what appeared to be superficial stitching.

It was about then that the soft hissing attracted Roku's attention. He rose to his feet, glancing about him for the source. He couldn't identify it. In his search, he noticed the door was shut. A trap. The Avatar strode over to the door, grasped the knob firmly, and tried to open the door. The door didn't budge. Roku touched the metal door. Ice cold, most likely frozen from the other side. He took a few steps back, studying the door and blinking weariness from his eyes. Why was he so tired? Roku shook his head in an attempt to clear his head, shifting into the correct stance and shooting a fireball at the door. That did nothing but serve to activate the sprinklers, which turned on, and rapidly turned off as the fire was gone. Roku glanced up at the fire fighting machines, desperately trying to stay conscious.

The sprinklers ruled out firebending, and the door felt cold enough to freeze any water that came in contact with it… perhaps if he cut it fast enough with the Water knife Technique… His stance shifted once more, and faltered. The fight to stay conscious was becoming too much. He saw now, what was causing the problem. Gas. There was an almost invisible gas flowing into the room. Roku persisted in trying to get out, fighting to stay awake. His arms stretched, and the world spun. Roku sunk to his feet, the gas finally achieving his purpose.

Roku was unconscious.

A few minutes later, the door creaked open. It was left open for several more minutes, allowing the gas to diffuse out of the room. Vexen strode in, followed by Zexion. He stepped over the sleeping body of Avatar Roku and looked down at his experiment. His eyes narrowed as he glared down at the replica at his feet. "The Replica was a failure…" he scowled, kneeling down beside the replica. "No vocal abilities, miniscule fighting ability, low endurance, running from a fight…" He rose to his feet, as displeased a Nobody could be.

Zexion observed from the door. "It was the first time the replica fought in battle. The experiment will improve after a few more trials," He stated calmly.

Vexen nodded in agreement, before grabbing the arm of the replica and levering it so that he could carry it over his shoulder. He glanced absently at Avatar Roku, before stepping over the man again and exiting the room via a portal, with Zexion following after.

**Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts… let's just say a bibliophilic fangirl would be popping in to 'follow' Vexen around. **

**Author's Note: Hello!! And welcome to Round Two. This time, the corresponding entry will be written by Alius111. Good luck!!**

**Justification for those who don't know Vexen and how he operates and ****SPOILERS!!**** Don't read the following if you don't want ****SPOILERS!!**** In Chain of Memories, Vexen creates a Riku Replica. As much as I admire Vexen, I doubt that he could create a successful replica in the amount of time that COM takes place in, which is about… I figure two days at Maximum, as the gang is just climbing, and going through old memories… and other stuff…**

**In the manga, there is also an omake short in which Vexen Replicas appeared in. That's where the idea came from.**

**Also… about Vexen floating… that's how he moves around when he fights. If you watch videos, or even play the original GBA game, Vexen doesn't walk around a lot, he floats about. It was really annoying when you went to try to attack him. ****SPOILERS END!!**

**Thank you for reading my chapter, and I hope you enjoy it. If you have any problems, or anything else, leave it in a review. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. **

**Have a nice day!!**


	4. Freeze

Chapter 4: Freeze

Vexen had made the decision to wait for his partner at one of the more prominent cafes in the mall. He had no desire for his partner to find the location of his lab.

The fact that the tea at this particular cafe was rather decent didn't hurt either.

Taking a sip, his eyes focused on a small creature making its way towards him. Vexen watched the creature approach him, setting down his tea when the creature was within five feet of him. "Experiment 627, I presume…"

"Evil," the Experiment replied with a nod. Vexen, already forewarned about his partner's speaking problems, was not surprised with the reply.

He rose to his feet and began to walk, making a gesture indicating that the Experiment should follow. "We have much to discuss, and very little time to do it," Vexen began as he walked forward, towards the cafe's counter, nonchalantly moving behind the counter and into the bowels of the cafe. "And the trap needs to be set."

_--Battle Tournament--_

Vexen leaned against the store's door and stared down at the fight below. A small part of him was interested in the bout below, while the rest focused on what he had to do. Waiting always was the hardest part of any plan. Act too early, and the entire plot was deterred. Act too late, and you were dead.

"You're blocking the door."

Vexen looked down. A teenage girl was glaring up at him, her arms crossed. The scientist took in the girl's appearance, before cooly inquiring, "Miss Block, I presume?"

The girl looked confused for the briefest of moments, before a mask of sarcasm crossed onto her face. "The one and only," She stated in a way that made it seem like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Vexen fought the urge to scowl. He had the feeling that this was going to be worse than dealing with a sugar-high Demyx.

He forced himself to smile politely. "We need to talk."

_--Battle Tournament--_

Argent cautiously examined the cafe before her. She had yet to find her partner, or to find either of her opponents. A lilac-haired man had said that he had seen a girl matching Massie's description at this cafe. She thanked the man, and had walked here.

There was no one out front. The door to the bowels of the cafe was left open. Perhaps Massie was in there. Or maybe she wasn't. Argent decided to proceed. Neither of her opponents looked strong to her, one an old man and the other a small creature. If it was a trap, she could easily fend off the attack.

The kitchen was empty, bare of any person. Only a large door was cracked open, cold air seeping out through the opening. A freezer, Argent decided. _This was enough_, Argent thought to herself, turning around. Massie obviously wasn't here.

A girl's shriek pierced the dead air, making the hairs on the back of Argent's neck stand straight up. She whipped around, staring at the freezer, the source of the sound. "What the hell?" she said to herself, approaching the door. That shriek… she couldn't just stand by. It might be Massie.

The door swung open easily and Argent walked through slowly, all her senses on full alert. The room was dark, almost pitch black. The only light source was from the kitchen, beyond the door. To remedy the lack of light, the Goth summoned forth a small ball of plasma using it to illuminate her path.

The plasma lit up a figure in the back of the freezer. Shaking off the cold that was already trying to permeate her body, Argent quickly walked over to the still figure. "Hey are you all right?" she inquired, leaning over and holding the light in front of the figure's face.

It was a dummy. Argent whirled around and started to run out of the freezer, but the door slammed shut with a click. Argent shook the handle roughly. It was locked. Argent grimaced, taking a step back, preparing to use a plasma blast to get her out of there.

A shot of ice stopped her, encasing her arm. She looked over her shoulder, using a quick burst of plasma to melt her arm, rivulets of the liquid running down the appendage.

A pair of eyes was staring at her. The creature. Argent shifted into an offensive position. She couldn't risk it attacking her while she tried to open the door. "Bring it on," she stated boldly.

Experiment 627's eyes narrowed in amusement. "Evil," he said, before launching at the girl.

_--Battle Tournament--_

Vexen was certain that he had developed a permanent tick under his eye. He had revised his opinion of this girl. She was worse than a sugar-high Demyx. She was the devil incarnate. The girl was babbling on about his clothes now.

"And those boots are soo clunky!! Honestly, where did you get them, a dumpster?? And your hair…"

Vexen strove to block the girl's comments out. He had thought this would be simple. Her profile in the database had said Massie was fashion oriented, with a mean streak, but Vexen had never thought the girl would be this bad.

"Enough," Vexen snapped. "I am tired of listening to your assessments of my so called 'look' and I am tired of your flippant attitude towards your elders. Are you going to surrender or not?"

Massie looked affronted. "Give up?! Puh-lease!!"

An eerie smile grew on Vexen's face. "Good," he replied, his hand dipping into a pocket.

_--Battle Tournament--_

Argent staggered back as 627's body collided painfully with her chest. His mouth snapped open and an icy breath emerged, freezing the girl's shoulders. Argent jerked her arm at the elbow, sniping 627 with a shot of plasma. In the few seconds she had, Argent melted the ice on her shoulders, the water soaking her shirt, and jumped to her feet. She wasn't as quick as she would have liked. The cold was setting into bones swifter than she had thought.

Argent had no time to contemplate further, as 627 rushed her again, using his ice breath on her feet, freezing her in place. Argent let out a curse, and materialized a bat to try to knock 627 away. She swung stiffly at the experiment, trying to ward off the weird experiment.

627 dodged most of the blows, and what blows he didn't dodge, he took in stride. Dashing forward, he jumped, spraying another burst of ice, freezing her stomach. "Evil!" He screeched in glee, charging another for his next attack.

Argent grimaced, quickly melting the ice once more. Now her shirt was drench with water. Argent could feel the water on her the various parts of her body slowly refreezing. She needed to get out of that freezer fast.

Twisting around, Argent started to shoot at the door with her plasma, only to have her hand frozen solid, and to be tackled by a red blur. They crashed into a shelving unit, frozen food falling on their heads.

_--Battle Tournament--_

Vexen stepped over Massie's unconscious body with ease, slipping the syringe back into his pocket. The girl hadn't gone down without a fight though, and the scientist was quite sure that he now had a black eye.

"Rather cheap, don't you think?" a voice called out.

Vexen tilted his head to look at the speaker. "Says the demon…" he replied, eyeing Death by Chocolate. "What brings you here? I haven't broken any rules… my opponent is alive, and the sedative was made by myself."

"Defensive, aren't we?" Death by Chocolate stated, walking past the blonde. "I was just walking to view the fight below, and you happened to be there. Relax."

"Hmm… good day," Vexen stated tersely, striding off. He had more important things to do than conversing with demons. The scientist ignored the demon's laugh.

The cafe was silent when Vexen arrived. He peered around, checking to see if anyone was loitering around, before proceeding.

The scientist was appreciative of the fact that if he arrived at the wrong time, he could mess up the entire plan. On his way over, he had stopped to confer with Zexion. The lilac haired man had confirmed that he had indeed directed Argent to the cafe, although whether she had taken the bait was unknown to him.

Vexen approached the freezer door, shut and locked. A smirk formed on his face as he strode up to it. He paused, listening for sounds of a struggle. Hearing none, the scientist cautiously unlocked the door.

627 swung it open. The experiment strode out of the freezer, and with a comment of "Evil," stalked off, evidently finished with his task. Vexen gazed into the room. Argent was buried in a pile of frozen food, shivering even though she was knocked out.

The scientist strode into the room, unaffected by the low temperature. Hooking an arm under both of her armpits, he dragged her out. He didn't need her to die of hypothermia. She was dragged as far as a table, where Vexen sat her in a chair for others to find.

Stepping back, Vexen nodded to himself, before turning and walking away.

He was done here.

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Death by Chocolate belongs to Avatarjk137. Vexen, the creation of Square Enix. Argent is owned by DC I believe. Massie is the property of the author of the ****Clique**__** series. Last but not least, 627 is the invention of Disney.**_

**Author's Note: A duel duet this time. Vexen's partner, 627, is being written by Kinger810. Argent and Massie are being written by Movie-Brat and Yellowfur respectively. Everybody's doing a great job so far!!**

**Not much to say about this one… I almost didn't finish in time due to personal matters. But I did. Thank you God. Also, many, many, many**

**thanks to Kinger810. Thank you so much for putting up with all of my emails. A thanks goes out to Skipper1313 as well, for his help with editing.**

**And of course, thanks to the readers for reading. **


	5. Hydration

**Chapter 5: Hydration**

"Experiment 627, one of the latest projects in Dr. Jumba Jookiba's long line of genetics research, and the first to be created on the Planet Earth. The experiment has been shown to have numerous abilities, excessive duribility, extreme strength, and other assets. His own known weakness is his loud, uncontrollable laughter, and the fact that when dehydrated, 627 will be returned to a pod format." Vexen paused in his reading, glancing over at where Zexion and Lexaeus sat.

Lexaeus, the Silent Hero and number Five of the Organization was staring stoically at Vexen. He was silent for a few minutes more, before he gruffly began to speak. "The creature will pose a problem. Is that why you had me bring it?"

Vexen nodded, tapping what looked like a caulking gun. "I'll dehydrate him with this, and incapacitate him for this round. Someone else can rehydrate the experiment for the next round." The Dehydrator had been made several years earlier, when Vexen had been sent on a mission to the Water Temple in Hyrule. The temple itself had proved annoying, and Vexen had gotten tired of all the water, being unable to freeze a good ninety percent of it due to the fact it would block the path forward. With the Dehydrator, the Temple had become much easier to negotiate.

"How are you going to distract him?" Zexion's quiet voice interrupted the older man's statement. "It is dubious to assume that the experiment will simply allow you to walk up and dehydrate him."

There was a moment of silence, before Vexen admitted that that was the hard part.

_--Battle Tournament--_

Vexen, Zexion, and Lexaeus stared down at the sight below from a obscure balcony on the second floor. They could barely see 627, who was apparently staking out the café where Vexen had arranged to meet the experiment in the previous. The experiment seemed to be under the impression that the scientist would be there.

"The message has been sent to the neophyte, correct?" Vexen inquired of his two companions, his gaze lifting from the experiment below.

Lexaeus nodded in silent affirmation.

"Do you think this will work?" Zexion asked quietly, before moving on to voice his opinion. "I find it dubious that the experiment will fall for this ploy for very long. The report did say that the experiment was very intelligent."

"He doesn't need to fall for it for a very long time, he just needs to fall for it long enough for…" Vexen's gaze snapped back to the café when he heard the tell-tale sign of a dark portal opening. "And here he is…"

A slight black robed figure stepped out of the portal, gazing around in an attempt to identify his surroundings.

Experiment 627 attacked the figure before the portal finished closing. The figure yelped, barely dodging the attack and propelled himself backwards. "Stop, stop!! I didn't do anything yet!" the figure protested. 627 ignored the man's words and moved to attack again. The figure dodged once more. "Wait, wait!!" the figure pleaded.

"Evil!" 627 roared.

The figure tilted his head to the side. "Now that's just plain rude…" he admonished, wagging a finger at the experiment. "Attacking people out of the blue like that…"

627 growled as the figure rambled on, before deciding to get this annoying pest out of the way. This obviously wasn't Vexen, and the experiment didn't want to waste any more time than he had to.

"Hey, are you paying attention? That's really rude too you know…" the figure whined, pulling out a card from a pocket. "The orders say I'm supposed to…" His eyes narrowed, squinting at the card in his hand. "Use aggression to liberate his true disposition?? What? Why did they even send me on this mission?? I told them I was the wrong guy for this…" He sighed, before extending an arm into the air… "Suppose I'll just have just have to do this…" A ball of water coalesced above his hand, before quickly expanding into a sitar. "Dance water, Dance!"

As he began to play, water pooled and merged into clones of the figure. The clones circled around 627, but were cut down as quickly as they were formed. The figure retreated towards the café as he saw the Experiment advance through the ranks, easily cutting a swathe through the water clones. "Uh-oh…" he managed to get out, before tripping backwards over a café chair. The figure took the chair with him, and managed to pull the table down with him as well, the ornaments on top hitting him square in the head.

627 stopped, before letting out a barking laugh. The laugh soon escalated as the figure tried to stand up, but only succeeded in tripping over the downed table and onto his face. Experiment 627 was soon rolling on the floor laughing, and missed the black portal that opened nearby. The creature stopped laughing when he felt something poke into him and begin to suck something out of him.

Vexen knelt down and grasped the pod with his free hand. He glanced at it cooly for a moment, before turning his attention to the figure. "Number nine, your incompetence has proved to be of some assistance. That is all that was needed. You may return to the castle."

Number nine, or Demyx, stared up at the scientist, biting back the 'what?' that rose to his lips. He knew it would serve no purpose to ask the man about it. Vexen was notorious for disliking the neophytes, and a part of Demyx wondered why the man had even sent for him for this mission. Demyx rose to his feet, brushing off what had fallen on him. A store across the way caught his eye. "I have to go do something first… see ya later Vexie!!"

A dark look spread across Vexen's face as the Nocturne ran past him. "It's Number Four to you!" He twitched violently, tamping down the urge to use the Dehydrator on Demyx. "No respect for their elders…"

"Relax. He did his job," Zexion stepped out of another portal, followed by Lexaeus.

"Don't remind me… he behaved as he usually did. I don't understand why the Superior let that incompetent into the Organization…"

"It is not our place to question the Superior," Lexaeus stated. "This round is over. It would be best to begin preparations for the next."

Vexen forced the scowl off his face and walked away from the café. "Indeed."

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing I say!! **

**Author's Note: Hee hee, I love Demyx. Not as much as my Vexie or Marly, but he's up there. So anyways… writing against a former partner… yep, it feels weird. So, good luck kinger810!! Woot!! Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, just feel free to leave them in a review.**


	6. Heart on Ice

**Chapter Six: Heart on Ice**

Vexen stared at the laptop's screen. "This is going to be difficult," he stated, rising to his feet. Zexion and Lexeaus watched him pace, as they sipped their tea. "This man… is experienced with dealing with illusions, is physically strong, and is quite clever… a scientist reaching my caliber… he would be an asset to the Organization…"

Lexeaus paused before taking a sip. "It's dubious that a Heartless alone would be able to take his heart. You would have to weaken him substantially before a Heartless could successfully steal his heart. "

Vexen grimaced. "I know. The man uses snakes… perhaps if we could drop the temperature low enough and keep it that low…"

"There's an ice skating rink." Vexen and Lexeaus's attention snapped to lilac-haired man. There was a questioning look in their eyes. Zexion shrugged. "Demyx wanted me to go with him…"

There was a short moment of silence before Vexen abruptly changed the subject. "Do we still have those old reiatsu repressors?? I think I can modify them in time…" The three men jumped into activity.

_--Battle Tournament--_

Orochimaru took in his surroundings, before his gaze focused on his opponent. The man stood in the middle of the ice rink, standing as solidly as if the man had been standing on normal earth. The ninja stored away that bit of knowledge, before examining the rink closer. He knew that his opponent liked to use traps and chemicals to beat his opponents, rather than pure strength alone. The fact that the man was standing out in the open like this meant that there was some kind of trap waiting…

Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. The ice rink looked like most other ice rinks, a large oval shaped arena, surrounded by waist high walls. The section of the mall that housed the rink was smooth, reducing the chance of using the ceiling to a bare minimum. The only thing that came close to the rink from the smooth ceiling was a scoreboard.

Orochimaru had to give his opponent one thing. He certainly planned well.

Well… if he couldn't pick out the trap, then maybe the best way would be to spring it… Orochimaru grinned to himself, before jumping forward, landing nimbly before his opponent.

Vexen looked unsurprised. "Hello Orochimaru. You're late. I expected you five minutes ago."

A cold smirk grew on Orochimaru's lips. "I didn't realize that you were so eager to die."

Vexen looked unruffled. "Die? I have no intentions of dying…" he stated, calling forth his shield. "If anyone perishes, it will be you." He paused briefly. "Activate program 613."

Above them, the scoreboard roared to life, numbers flicking across where the scores were usually kept. If one were to watch the numbers for a time, they would notice a pattern of repeating numbers. An algorithm.

"To even the playing field a little, your abilities are almost completely sealed." Vexen shrugged. "You can use techniques that require little amounts of chakra, but techinques like summoning Manda… well let's just say they're not possible at this moment." A sword of ice solidified in the Nobody's free hand.

Orochimaru smirked. "Not a problem. I'll still be able to kill you easily," he stated boastfully, opening his mouth and tilting his head back. A sword emerged from the ninja's mouth. Orochimaru grabbed the hilt, extracting the sword from his mouth and quickly flowed into an attack, launching himself at Vexen. The blonde Nobody threw up his shield, Orochimaru's sword skidding on the shield's surface, before Vexen pushed forward, making the sword jump off. Vexen thrust forward with his own sword, only to have the strike parried. "Not bad," Orochimaru twisted his sword abruptly, almost disarming Vexen.

Vexen made no reply, but concentrated on the fight. This was one of his more risky gambles, and if he wanted to win, he needed to stay alive. And relatively intact…

Vexen bit back a hiss of pain as he felt Orochimaru's sword bite into his face, leaving a cut under his eye. The scientist was lucky that it hadn't cut any higher up. As the fight drew on, Vexen began to fight more and more defensively. As the time passed, Vexen began to realize the flaw in his plan.

He wasn't going to be able to outlast Orochimaru. The Nobody had thought that fighting on the ice would put the ninja at a disadvantage, and the chakra suppressor would deal with most of the man's techniques. Vexen had been wrong. The man didn't need his techniques to fight as much as the database entry had lead the Nobody to believe. Vexen scowled. He was definitely editing that entry after he finished the fight.

Vexen swing his sword at Orochimaru, forcing the ninja to take a step back. He extended the hand that held his shield.

White creatures twisted into being, crowding the rink. Little ones that crawled long the floor, ones shaped like samurai that wielded two swords, ones that twisted and contorted with each movement, dancers that moved with an inhuman elegance and grace, sorcerers with folded arms that observed the scene calmly, enormous ones with swords as large as they were; all crowded into the rink around Orochimaru.

The ninja paused for a moment, taking in his new opponents, before a smirk formed. "This is it?" With no further words, Orochimaru flung himself into battle, slashing and attacking with a ferocity unseen before.

But for each of the Lesser Nobodies that were cut down, three seemed to take their place. Vexen had stepped back out of range to observe the fight. The Lesser Nobodies had been a precautionary measure, just in case he had been unable to continue. A look of displeasure settled on the scientist's face. They should have shown up by now…

Orochimaru was starting to get tired of these games. It was time to end this. He slashed through a row of nobodies, their bodies falling neatly into two pieces as he reached the end of the row.

"Where are you Vexen?? I tire of your games!" Orochimaru called out, beheading one of the Lesser Nobodies, and stabbing another in the head.

"I'm right here," Vexen stated quietly, shoving a claw into Orochimaru's chest. He had just emerged from a black portal that had opened behind the man. Zexion and Lexeaus stood off to the side, watching the events proceed silently. Vexen twisted the claw in Orochimaru's chest and slowly began to pull it out.

Orochimaru let out yell, and reversed his blade, swinging it in a stabbing motion under his left arm. Vexen felt the sword bite into his side, and finished yanking out the claw. In the claw's grasp was a pink pulsing Heart.

The ninja felt his legs crumple beneath him, his body feeling abnormal. It felt as if his body was breaking apart. The snakes that comprised his body were wriggling convulsing.

Vexen took a step back, lowering the claw as he watched as Orochimaru disappeared into the darkness. Without his Heart, the ninja's body couldn't sustain itself, and disappeared into the darkness. A new Nobody. Vexen glanced down at the claw. Orochimaru's Heart was writhing, trying to go join Kingdom Hearts. The scientist smirked, pulling out a sample jar and sticking the Heart inside. Satisfied, he dismissed the Lesser Nobodies and walked over to join Zexion and Lexeaus.

"A new member perhaps…" Vexen stated. "Hopefully one who will respect the high-ups…"

"Dubious…" Zexion stated. "He's not known for loyalty. He and Marluxia will get along fine."

Lexeaus remained silent, looking over the battle field.

Vexen turned to stare where Lexeaus looked. "There's nothing there. Come, I need to go perform some experiments…" With that said, Vexen turned and opened a black portal to his makeshift laboratory. Zexion followed quickly. Lexeaus remained still for a moment, before he too followed after his comrades.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!! Nothing I tell you!! So keep your lawyers away from me, before I am forced to go fangirl on you!!**

**Author's Note: Another big round of thanks to my brother, for being so helpful… I'm sorry for making you explain, and then re-explain Orochimaru so many times… You have my gratitude little bro… My opponent this round is Kohaku Kawa. Good luck to you!!**

**Now, even under my brother's tutelage, I still might have gotten some things wrong. My apologies if that is so. I tried to add in some chakra stuff… even though it was almost immediately suppressed… As for the whole deal with the Heart… a lot of it is Kingdom Hearts fandom. In the fandom a person is comprised of the Heart and the Body. Heartless, and some machines can remove Hearts from people. If a person's Heart is removed, then the body fades into the darkness, and becomes a Nobody, while the removed Heart usually becomes a Heartless, or becomes a part of Kingdom Hearts. Ironically… Nobodies have bodies but no Hearts, and Heartless have hearts but technically have no body… yeah it's kind of weird… but that's the canon for you. Basically, what Vexen does is he removes Orochimaru's Heart… and the rest is history. If you still have questions, feel free to leave them in a review!!!**

**Thanks for reading!! Have a nice Day!!**


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